The sale of the Pines’ largest commercial property is fueled by the lack of progress being made on rebuilding the Pavilion; as of today it remains a plot of sand. An inside source tells me there have been discussions of holding High Tea, the popular early evening party, around the hotel pool area. The pool area with its one small bar will be a tight fit for close to 1,000 thirsty boys who gather for pre-dinner cocktails and dancing.

In related news, the design for the building next door which also burned and which housed the Sip n Twirl bar, was shared over the weekend by Fire Island Pines realtor Bob Howard, on Facebook. According to Howard the foundation and girders are complete.

i'd been reading about F.I. since I was in my late teens - Ethan Mordden, Edmund White, Andrew Holloran.

Mainly Ethan Mordden ;-)

gotta say, it was a profoundly emotional experience visiting fire island for the first time. some places just resonate with our collective history - the stories and hopes and lives of so many brothers and sisters who came before. walking through the mist....positively unreal.

I work for one of the architects of the new Pavilion. There is no plan to sell and we are finalizing the new plans and they are f*cking AWEOME. Construction will start soon.

Posted by: Mark H | Mar 12, 2012 1:02:06 PM

@ MARK H - any timeline? plan to be open by july 4th?

Posted by: me | Mar 12, 2012 1:56:42 PM

Its true but for $21 Million. Diller Scofidio + Renfro were never hired. Seth & Andrew have made a mess of the operation causing millions of losses since they took over. Blesso has now taken over and Albert Price is in charge. The 39 investors are pissed. Next.....

Posted by: CHris | Mar 12, 2012 1:58:00 PM

Shame on the LGBT community if this property sells for $22 million and we can't raise at least that much for the ballot battles in Maine, Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina, Maryland and wherever else it might show up. Let alone the various legal challenges to Prop 8, DOMA, Kill the Gays bills, etc etc.

New building will be open by April of 2013. It is a joint design by DS+R and HWKN who just won the MoMa PS 1 award.

Posted by: Mark H | Mar 12, 2012 5:25:32 PM

John,

We raised about $30 million for Prop 8 alone, not including money raised for the legal defense.

Moreover, the fantastic "8" reading in LA that was aired on youtube raised over $2 million alone, and I believe goes toward the organization in that's funding the legal defense.

I totally agree we aren't raising the kind of money we should for the most important causes of our time, but our don't think for a second that glbt people across the country aren't raising many millions of dollars a year in defense of our legal rights.

I imagine we're better at funding our legal rights than we are at funding for aid for glbt seniors who are often forced back into the closet to get basic care, HIV treatment for the indigent and working poor, and homeless shelters for GLBT youth.